Serie A Thread - 2014/15 Season

Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

It seems Cassano is joining Fiorentina on loan.

Some years ago I heard Prandelli left Roma because of the illness of his wife, and also a controversy with Cassano (who at that time was an idol of the fans). Also Del Neri had troubles with him in Roma times, we all thinked they become friends again and then another controversy some days ago. I'm starting to understand why Lippi doesn't even want to talk about him (and in these hours Lippi is masturbing because of happines). I really hoped Fantantonio changed, but it seems not; let's wait for his performance with Fiorentina shirt (the shirt wore by Roberto Baggio)
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

waiting for a monster post by lo zio about today's afternoon match :)

i'm falling in love match after match with Pastore, there's something in the way he moves that makes me think to the great zidane (obviously is still really far from zizou's level)
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

I wish Leo wasn't so afraid to rotate more. One thing I admire about United, Arsenal, Barca etc, is that they have faith in their squad to rotate. Leo has players like Flamini, Huntelaar, Di Gennaro and Strasser who need playing time to be consistent. Let's face it, Milan don't struggle with games they expect to win in general, so why not get players that lack confidence to gain confidence?
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Roma is sending Okaka to an EPL side (Fulham apparently?), permanently? (selling him) or on loan? Just heard about this...
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well we couldn't ask for major changes with only a couple of days training the lads.. But at least he put Grosso where he belongs, in the bench and put a proper DL playing, De Ceglie. So many clubs struggling for a good left defender these days, and Ciro kept using superoverrated grosso instead of a fast paced positional and correct De Ceglie.
Melo was again, super sh*t worst buy of the season by far. He makes the angels cry when he touches/passes the ball to some1, not even bringing to the table his wrong timing for tackles.
Well in not expecting a 180º turn in just a couple of weeks, but lets just expect a different team in around march, with a style of play, a base formation and solid "departments".
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

younggun said:
Mutu's failed another drug test, Some people just never learn.
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it's not about drugs this time, mate. it's about some diet-pills (they say mutu is obsessed by his weight and shape) he borrowed from his mother... apparently those pills were labelled as "doping" just 1 week before he took them. i think he was just ill-considered. :))
Neoexodus said:
Well in not expecting a 180º turn in just a couple of weeks, but lets just expect a different team in around march, with a style of play, a base formation and solid "departments".
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yep
gigi said:
the most ridicolous thing about that penalty is del piero's after match interview: he said that it was absolutely penalty and that he'd be furios if the referee didn't assign it
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quite the opposite, gigi. he said that it was a border line situation (border line my arse, it was simply a non existant penalty) and he admitted that if that penalty would have been given against juve, he would have been furious..... at least that's what i hear on tv :))
gigi said:
waiting for a monster post by lo zio about today's afternoon match
i'm falling in love match after match with Pastore, there's something in the way he moves that makes me think to the great zidane (obviously is still really far from zizou's level)
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yeah the kid can play! when he scored that beauty i found myself jumping on my seat and hugging my friend's client for happyness.
i was watching the game in a pub with one of my closest friend and a client of his. my friend happens to be a criminal lawyer, and his client is currently on trial for murder.... after a few seconds i thought "WTF! i'm hugging a murderer!!!!" :CONFUSE:
it's true what they say: sometimes football makes people closer to each others :DD

Anyhow, did anyone see bari-palermo? holy shit! what an amazing match!... i wasn't even pissed off about the loss, as this bari is just too beautiful to watch.... they're even more entertaining than the likes of cagliari, parma, genoa, napoli and fiorentina.
someone should send a tape of that match to many coaches in europe and show them what football is all about.
this bari really reminds me of good old zeman!

speaking of coaches, the panchina d'oro (yearly award for the season best coach) has been handed to allegri (cagliari). what do u guys think about it? Imo it's well deserved. :))

this week highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPVZrvA9Eo4

and that's bari - palermo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNUosR8Ycg8&hd=1
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Yep, about Allegri. Ancelotti saw it too last year and publicly complimented him. He's doing great and has brought great unity and consistency to the team.

Anyway - Keirrison to Fiorentina!!! I've only heard great things about this kid! Now they've got Ljajic, Jovetic and Keirrison! 3 very exciting prospects!
 
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Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Neoexodus said:
Well we couldn't ask for major changes with only a couple of days training the lads.. But at least he put Grosso where he belongs, in the bench and put a proper DL playing, De Ceglie. So many clubs struggling for a good left defender these days, and Ciro kept using superoverrated grosso instead of a fast paced positional and correct De Ceglie.
Melo was again, super sh*t worst buy of the season by far. He makes the angels cry when he touches/passes the ball to some1, not even bringing to the table his wrong timing for tackles.
Well in not expecting a 180º turn in just a couple of weeks, but lets just expect a different team in around march, with a style of play, a base formation and solid "departments".
Click to expand...

Grosso was suspended.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Milanista said:
Yep, about Allegri. Ancelotti saw it too last year and publicly complimented him. He's doing great and has brought great unity and consistency to the team.

Anyway - Keirrison to Fiorentina!!! I've only heard great things about this kid! Now they've got Ljajic, Jovetic and Keirrison! 3 very exciting prospects!
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Did they get Cassano as well in the end? With Gila, Mutu and the others mentioned above that is one hell of a forward line.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Jumbo_ said:
Did they get Cassano as well in the end? With Gila, Mutu and the others mentioned above that is one hell of a forward line.
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Nope, Cassano said he turned the deal down to stay with his 'people'. I think thats good for Fiorentina because Prandelli has created a very ambitious and harmonious squad... Fiorentina remind me of Arsenal but aren't afraid to invest.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

gigimarulla said:
waiting for a monster post by lo zio about today's afternoon match :)

i'm falling in love match after match with Pastore, there's something in the way he moves that makes me think to the great zidane (obviously is still really far from zizou's level)
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I watched a little bit of that game and I noticed the same thing. There's something Zidanish :P about him.

And yeah Bari play beautiful football indeed! That final goal against Palermo (the 4th) was breath-taking stuff! :WORSHIP:

And I think this was mentioned here before, but looks like we've got ourselves another ginger Italian in Alessandro Gazzi! They're growing in numbers! :D

Last but not least, having seen Cesare Bovo in that same match, I remembered something I wanted to mention here. Like I said before, I used to think when he was very young and in Udinese, that Giampiero Pinzi would turn into a quality player! He's not a bad one of course but playing in Chievo at this age with no room for further improvement I don't think, I think it's fair to say he didn't live up to potential or maybe some of us like me were wrong to have rated him highly in the 1st place. I think Ben mentioned, he also thought Pinzi would become a very good player.

Now about Bovo I wanted to say the same thing although he's still fairly young (for a defender) and has definite room for improvement and of course Palermo and Chievo (massive difference!) but point I want to make is that I used to think (when I first saw him few years ago in Roma) that Cesare had the potential to become very good! And one of Italy's defenders and hence perhaps one of the best in the world. That has obviously not happened yet and nowadays while I still have some faith in him and can see a good future, have withdrawn my stance on this and could see him continue as a decent but not spectacular/special player. :/
Now I'm curious to know if I were the only one who's again been a little disappointed because I thought of him too highly initially or if others perhaps made the same mistake and used to think he would become a big player too. By the way, what I'm saying has nothing to do with his performance in this particular match at all but in general his level of ability today as a player which in my book is good but not great like I thought it might be by now.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

yeah bro,i definitely see your point about bovo and pinzi... also coz i shared the same expectations u had about them. and yes, at this stage of their carreers, we can say they didn't fulfill their real potential. Pinzi became a decent\good player... that kind of player that might come handy for any team....but he's definitely not as good as we (you and me) thought he would have become. Bovo became a pretty good cb, i'd say slightly above the italian average (and considering the standard quality of the italian average cb, that's definitely a good achievement), but he's not that special thing he seemed to be a few years ago (and even though he's still pretty young i don't think he'll get much better than he is right now).

but i don't think we should feel disappointed by their growth and i also don't think we were wrong in rating them as high potential youngsters a few years ago.
because, as a matter of fact, they really were "high potential youngsters". they just didn't fulfill their potential. wich is pretty common afterall.

i mean, for every generation we witness dozens of potential future world class youngsters, as in each and every generation there are usually plenty of extremely talented 19, 20, 22 years old youngsters. but by the time they reach 28 just a few of them actually reached that status, as talent alone isn't gonna bring u that far. it takes a lot more to become a top class players. and i'm not just talking about will, determination and hardwork, which are obviously as important as talent. i'm also talking about your "mental structure", your confidence, your faith in your own skills (i remember we talked about this when we talked about balotelli and montolivo and how mario is more likely to become a top class player than montolivo, precisely because of his "gutsyness").
it's also about having a well-defined personality: being aware of what u are and what u wanna become, having that strong personality and those "mental boundaries" that allow u to remain faithful to yourself, to stay focused on your goals and not get distracted by popularity.
and then there are also many other factors wich are just out of the players themselves's control; we might call it luck. at the end of the day, the most apparently insignificant circumstances can very well change our lives. the right transfer at the right time; having a good coach in the most important phase of your growth as a player, and so on.

so having high potential doesn't mean u will become a top class player (and, knowing u, i'm aware u already know this... much bettter than me probably ;) ).... it doesn't even mean u're more likely to become a top class player than any other less talented player.... it just means u have 1 of those many "features" required to reach that level.
if 5 years ago someone would have told me barzagli would have become nothing more than a decent cb, while chiellini would have turn out to be a top class cb, i would have never believed that.

and the same applies to the current young generation. we have many potential world class cbs out there right now: kjaer, evans, bocchetti, ranocchia and bonucci are the first names that come into my mind. but the only thing we can tell right now is that they seem to be on the right path. some of em are showing huge potential (ranocchia and bonucci), some others are already starting to perform as top class players (kjaer and evans).... but we can't very well say if any of them will actually be a top class player tomorrow. maybe some of em will make it... maybe none.... maybe 3 years from now, a cb we don't really rate right now will be much better than alll of em.... who knows?

that's why i try not to indulge in those "who's the next best thing?" conversations (although it's a strong temptation). coz it's such an aleatory subject. if we always keep in mind that talent is just one of those many factors required to turn a potential world class player into an actual top player, then we won't feel disappointed by those who "didn't make it". :))
dominic said:
Grosso was suspended.
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how loquacious!!
oh come on u lazy! u can't pop in for the first time in months and get away with just 3 words... give us some feedback about juve!!
it looks like zac is going for his patented 3 men defensive line. didn't see that coming. it might actually be a good idea, given juventus personnel.... but changing the defensive line setup in the middle of the season is by far the riskiest and deepest revolution a coach can experiment. it's like rebuilding the entire squad from its foundations, and it will definitely take a lot of effort and time.
what are your thoughts on the matter? and please, make it a 2 lines post at least! :P
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Awful situation really, 1 win in last 8 games! Lucky to get draws against bottom side teams, losing to Chievo, Catania, fluke win against Parma etc.. really can't see Juve qualifing to Champion League, not even to the Europa League, which would be a huge financial blow. Also, I just can't understand, why Gio doesn't get any playing time. Todays last sub - Del Piero <-> Giandonato, an unknown midfielder, to secure the 1-1 draw against Livorno?? All these injuries and meaningless red cards don't give us many options too :(
I'll go with the 4-2-3-1, which seemed to work fine against Atalanta, Sampdoria, at current situation Candreva and Gio on the flanks maybe, Diego in the middle and Amauri upfront, even though he can't do anything except whining these days. Oh and Melo picked another red card, he's been worthless so far. So, who'll be next to Sissoko next week? I really don't know, maybe Marrone :D
Nevertheless, always looking forward to next match and hope we'll get better, which doesn't seem to happen sadly.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

So you do think that that red card was deserved? I would have barely given a foul... but yes, Juventus isn't improving much. I've seen ONE good (well, it was pretty good) action, and then quite messy everywhere else. And well Giovinco was injured and this was something like the first game available.

The real problem is that strikers don't score (strikers sum has less goals than other players sum)... luckily for us we've got quite some points at the beginning or we would be in the right side of the chart right now... :|
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well looks like serie a is a wrap :APPLAUD: ... knew Milan wouldn't last. They have zero depth. They should count themselves lucky they're out of the coppa d'italia. Wait 'til Champions League. I guarantee they will drop more points. Shame about Juve but its just so fun too watch :SMUG: And Lazio, what a sorry sight. Not even Ledesma can save them at this point.

Watching Chelsea at the moment, versus Arsenal... looks like we're gonna get smoked :PIG:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

rfU said:
And Lazio, what a sorry sight. Not even Ledesma can save them at this point.
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I hope not, or Lotito will risk his life. Knowing Rome's fans, someone can even kill him. Seriously, I hope they will save, a Serie A without Lazio and without Rome's derby is not the same.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Leo Messi said:
I hope not, or Lotito will risk his life. Knowing Rome's fans, someone can even kill him. Seriously, I hope they will save, a Serie A without Lazio and without Rome's derby is not the same.
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:D "killing" is a bit of a stretch.... but i'm quite sure someone will come up with a "mocking mask" of lotito during this carnevale :DD

anyhow did u guys watched fiorentina-roma? damn what a match! watching this fiorentina playing is pure pleasure... i can't believe they didn't win this one..... and i can't believe palermo managed to kick their ass just a few weeks ago! :CONFUSE:

if they keep going like that, they're definitely gonna be a contender for the 4th place (along with napoli, palermo, juve and samp).....

.....palermo.... a 4th place contender..... i still can't believe it! :CONFUSE: :BOP:
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Let's spend some word about Lotito, new idol of AS Roma fans:
21959286794592078286612.jpg


I found once an article where it's written Lotito had a discount on Zarate price after a "Calcio Balilla" match against sheikh (you can find something in italian here). I started saying "fu**ing journalists liars" etc., but after some time I found this:

16731212777741113174539.jpg


So it seems it's true he had that match, and knowing the man I think it's possible, after all he's "Oreste, the dick with three heads"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3NHU_R-XAE
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Leo Messi said:
a Serie A without Lazio and without Rome's derby is not the same.
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Sucks but we managed without a derby d'italia for 1 season. And as things stand, Lazio definitely deserve to go down. It's a shame but it's not like they've been unlucky. At least there will be a lot of talented players available, like Kolarov, Lichesteiner, and Zarate, and especially Radu, he's improved immeasurably as a CB since last season.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

rfU said:
Watching Chelsea at the moment, versus Arsenal... looks like we're gonna get smoked :PIG:
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i really don't think so. chelsea is one of the very best teams in the world.... but right now, this inter is much closer to chelsea than arsenal.
that's by far the best inter since calciopoli.

of course everything can happen in a champions league double match... chelsea might tear apart inter..... but inter too might destroy chelsea (although i don't think any team will dominate as it will be probably a very close matchup).... based on the status of both squads and on the current form on both teams, i don't think there's a favourite. both teams have the same chances to go through.
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

Well, some very good games this weekend. Fiorentina were very entertaining to watch and were extremely unlucky not to win - I thought Gilardino was very disappointing, but to be fair the Roma defence was almost perfect in the air.

Over the last few weeks I've observed the way Fiorentina play, and I think when they play well, its down to 3 players - Jovetic, Vargas and Frey. Jovetic reminds me of players like Kaka - he does things that you don't expect. What I mean is that he seems to be the kind of player who would make a move that would completely differ from conventional attacking moves. When he plays, and is allowed such freedom, it seems like he is the one that connects the build up to the execution (through scoring or assisting).

Vargas - some people think he is overrated, but I don't. He is a train that never needs to stop, and having someone like him running around almost 100% ensures that your team will always be running all game long (something Milan has lacked over the last 3 years). He has power, determination and confidence - which gives him the ability to burst down the flanks and throw in cross after cross after cross.

Frey - He is a goalkeeper, but, funny I know, every he has a good game where he is shining with confidence, the rest of the team tend to act that way too. I think he is or can be a true Viola leader. He's the complete opposite of someone like Dida who never calls for the ball or yells at his players, something that helps keep the Viola team unified.

Of course there are many other important players in Fiorentina, but these 3 players are the ones I always see standing out not only for their technical abilities, but what they offer on the pitch. It almost seems to me as if they are the three that make a difference.

Anyway... on a different note - I'm struggling to single out goalkeepers in Serie A this year because almost every team has a very good keeper! Palermo recently signed Benussi who I think is too awesome to be a sub. Sampdoria just signed Storari, who I really rate, and also have Castelazzi who is also a very good keeper! Teams like Siena, Atalanta and Chievo have very solid keepers in Curci, Consigli/Coppola and Sorrentino.
But in terms of improvement - Muslera and Julio Sergio have really taken me by surprise especially since I used to think they were a joke in the past. Muslera seems to really be developing into a confident and reliable keeper.

I'm also happy that De Sanctis is back in Italy- I always thought he was a very good keeper for any team in the league.


Anyway - now about Milan.

I thought Leo made the right subs but too late into the game. Again, he was too afraid to change the lineup, which is really frustrating. Huntelaar and Beckham were needed much earlier. As soon as Huntelaar came on, we were far more dangerous and were begining to create chances.

It was nice to see Bonera back, who I thought had a very solid game. Abate was awesome and was full of energy, reminded me a bit of Zambrotta when he first joined.



--- It seems this season Inter is too good, but the rest of the league is much more balanced. To some it might be better like this than having a three horse race that is far ahead of the rest of the league.

---
Ben - Palermo are playing some great football. Miccoli has to be the unluckiest player but also the luckiest player ever. He does the most amazing skill or action but always hits the post, crossbar or the incrocio... but luckily someone like Cavani is always around to hit the rebound ... in fact, he scored a great goal against Parma and seems to be improving his finishing. I'm really liking Pastore, and hope that players like him and Kjaer stay at Palermo for atleast another 2-3 years. But most importantly, Sirigu... where did he come from? I've seen around 5-10 Palermo games this season and he keeps impressing me!
 
Re: Serie A Thread - 2009/10 Season

milanista said:
Over the last few weeks I've observed the way Fiorentina play, and I think when they play well, its down to 3 players - Jovetic, Vargas and Frey
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they're definitely 3 nice players, but i wouldn't say fiorentina is all about them. prandelli's football is displayed on the ground, and that implies everyone is involved. marchionni, santana, zanetti, pasqual, gamberini... they all have been decisive during different moments of the season. and that's probably the nicest thing about prandelli's teams (it was the same with parma). everyone has a chance to shine and no one is supposed to carry the team on his shoulders.

for example montolivo was IMMENSE yesterday. man of the match imo. it's such a shame he can be a pussy sometimes... if only he had a bit more character he could be such a great player (there's still time though).

and then there's gilardino, who has been one of their most important assets in the first half of the season... now he's having a bad form period and some others are stepping up.
but even if i said i think it's unappropriate to single out any player from fiorentina, if i had to mention their main players, gilardino would definitely be there.... alberto has scored 28 goals in 56 matches with the viola shirt.... that's one goal every 2 matches.... and he managed to keep this stunning average for 2 years now. that's by all means a world class average.
milanista said:
--- It seems this season Inter is too good, but the rest of the league is much more balanced. To some it might be better like this than having a three horse race that is far ahead of the rest of the league.
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the thing i care the most about is the quality of the football... i mean having a close battle for the champions league is nice, but watching some good football is much more important to me.
so, to me, it would be better to have 3 real and consistant top clubs along with inter.... but then again we can't have it all, can we? i mean there isn't a league in europe which has high quality top teams, high quality mid-class teams and high quality small teams.
so if i have to choose, i prefere things the way they are right now. the way serie a is built right now, u get from 4 to 6 great games every week (wich is just crazy). no other league can match that right now.
u just have to avoid juve, lazio and siena games.
and if i wanna get some high quality top class teams action, there are always the likes of barca, chelsea and man utd :))
milanista said:
Miccoli has to be the unluckiest player but also the luckiest player ever. He does the most amazing skill or action but always hits the post, crossbar or the incrocio... but luckily someone like Cavani is always around to hit the rebound
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LOL! that's true :D
milanista said:
I'm really liking Pastore, and hope that players like him and Kjaer stay at Palermo for atleast another 2-3 years. But most importantly, Sirigu... where did he come from? I've seen around 5-10 Palermo games this season and he keeps impressing me
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2\3 years is quite unlikely. kjaer will probably leave in the summer, while pastore will stay for at least another season. besides i can't complain. we can't forget we're a mid class team.... players don't come here to stay. we get them cheap, turn them into (possibly) great footballers and then sell them at 3 times the price we bought them for and look for more promising talents. afterall holding young high quality players for too much could have a very bad effect.... look at udinese... inler, zapata, d'agostino, none of em left last summer.... they stayed in udine with no motivations and now look how bad udinese is doing.

when it comes to selling players, for a midclass team timing is everything. if u sell them at the right time (not too early, not too late) u'll make the most of em (from a financial point of view).... with 4 millions of those 12 we got from juve for amauri we bought kjaer.... this summer we'll get from 13 to 15 millions for kjaer and invest part of em for a new young cb. :))

as for sirigu, he comes from our acedemy. i heard very good things about him in the past few years, but i certainly didn't expect him to be THIS good and consistant in his first season as a starter. however it's still way too early to express a proper judgement about his skills, so let's just say he's been a great surprise so far :))
 
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